Android Becomes Number 2 Mobile OS on the Market

Open source, Linux-based mobile operating system Android became the second most popular mobile OS for the first quarter of 2010.

NPD wireless market research revealed that, based on the number of consumer sales for Q1 2010, open source mobile operating system Android is now the second most popular OS with 28 percent of the market share. Research In Motion's proprietary OS is still on the majority of mobile devices with 36 percent and Apple's proprietary iPhone OS is the third most popular with 21 percent.

"As in the past, carrier distribution and promotion have played a crucial role in determining smartphone market share," said Ross Rubin, executive director of industry analysis for NPD.

Rubin attributes a recent Verizon Wireless promotion that expanded a buy-one-get-one offer to include all smartphones. Solid sales of Motorola's Droid line of phones (all of which run Android) also helped the open source OS surge in popularity.

This news comes on the same day that wireless carrier Sprint announced that the Nexus One, an Android smartphone branded by Google, would not be carried by the mobile phone service provider. Sprint will instead focus on the HTC Evo 4G. The good news for Google: both phones are powered by Android.